ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Monday ordered a third-party audit of a Rs20 billion ($71.4 million) Ramadan relief package announced earlier this month to support around four million families across the country during the holy month of fasting. 

Under the package, the government has said it would credit Rs5,000 ($17.87) into digital wallets of low-income families. 

In the past, the annual Ramadan relief package would be implemented through state-run utility stores, from where low-income households could buy essential commodities such as wheat, sugar, oil, and pulses, among other items, at reduced prices. However, each year, consumers complained of long queues at the stores, limited stock availability, substandard food items, and difficulties with the process of identification verification needed to receive the discounted package at utility stores. For these reasons, the government announced this year it would no longer utilize utility stores to administer its Ramadan program but would instead create digital wallets. 

Other than in Ramadan also, utility stores have been plagued by reports of corruption and mismanagement for years, with consumers complaining of substandard merchandise being sold and staff accused of vending subsidized products in the open market.

“Amounts under Ramadan Relief Package are being transferred to the beneficiaries through a highly convenient and transparent digital wallet system and this model should be adopted for other government’s run schemes,” state news agency APP said in a report after the PM chaired a review meeting of the aid program and called for its third-party audit.

The PM was informed that 63 percent beneficiaries of the relief package had received the payments so far, and complete documentary records were available about the distribution of the funds. 

“[PM] asked that the awareness campaign run by telecom companies and banks regarding the package should be made more effective and a comprehensive report be prepared in this regard,” APP reported. 

During Ramadan in Pakistan, there is a significant increase in the demand for essential food items at subsidized prices, which in the past overwhelmed the capacity of utility stores, causing long lines and potential shortages. 

Ensuring equitable distribution of the package across different regions and demographics was also be difficult in a country of 241 million people, sometimes leading to some areas receiving less benefits than others. To prevent abuse, the government implements strict verification processes like CNIC checks, which also leads to delays and inconvenience for customers. 

The allocated stock of subsidized items at utility stores is also often not sufficient to meet the high demand during Ramadan, leading to disappointment for customers who cannot purchase everything they need. 

“This [digital wallets] was a new concept to say goodbye to the utility stores forever due to the massive complaints of worst corruption of public money, which was also an injustice to the common man,” Sharif had said at a meeting last week. “The issue of poor quality and corruption have been done away with through a new modern digital wallet.”

PESHAWAR: Muhammad Ibrahim stood at his shop, Ameer Sahib Juice Shop, earlier this month and stuck whole pistachios, cashew nuts, almonds, walnuts and raisins to a large milkshake glass covered in a gooey paste. 

He was preparing the glass for what many in the northwestern Pakistani city of Peshawar describe as the “most unique,” and “most beautifully presented” shakes in town. Ibrahim and his brother, Ismail, co-owners of the shop they set up in 2005, grind dates, honey and chocolate to prepare a soft and sticky paste that they carefully apply on the outside of each glass, on which the dried fruits are then glued. The end product is a glass that looks like it is entirely made of dried fruit.

Into the glass are poured thick shakes made from a variety of seasonal fruits, with more edible decorations added on top to finish the offering. The drinks have become as much of a social media hit as they are loved by customers who throng the shop in Ramadan and throughout the rest of the year. 

"At takes at least 15-20 minutes to prepare the glass," Ibrahim told Arab News at Peshawar’s famed Namak Mandi where his store is located. "We make it in the morning and serve it at iftar time.”

Different sizes of the shakes retail for between $2-6, steep for a city like Peshawar, but which many people are still willing to pay due to the uniqueness of the drinks' presentation and taste. 

"People from different parts of the country come for this dried fruit juice,” Ibrahim said, saying he regularly served customers from cities across the KP province, of which Peshawar is the capital, as well as from the Punjab province and the federal capital, Islamabad. 

Ayub Sher, a resident of KP's Bajaur district who works in Peshawar, visited Ibrahim's shop last week and was all praise for the shakes.

“We came here to try this juice and to see if it has taste or not. When we tried it, we found it that it is fantastic,” he told Arab News as he scooped some thick shake out of the glass with a long spoon. 

“Forget about the taste, we haven’t seen any juice presented to us this beautifully.”